Method for processing a vital, flavoured egg

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a method for processing a vital, flavoured egg with uniform distribution of the salt content therein, characterized by immersing an egg in a nearsaturation salt water, having therein a non-ion surface active agent, applying pressure for a short time to make the salt penetrate the structure of the egg, lifting the egg out of the water and allowing it to stand still for at least 24 hours.

United States Patent 1191 Terada 1451 Sept. 11, 1973 METHOD FORPROCESSING A VITAL,

FLAVOURED EGG [76] Inventor: Kinji Terada, 40, Miyamaru-machi,

Wahamatu-ku, Kitakyushu-shi, Fukuoka-ken, Japan [22] Filed: July 21,1971

[21] App]. No.: 164,668

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data July 25, 1970 Japan 45/064775 [52U.S. CI. 426/281, 426/300 [51] Int. Cl. A23b 5/00, A231 1/32 [58] Fieldof Search ..99/113, 161; 119/1 [56] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 2,851,006 9/1958 Taylor et al. 119/1 2/1964 Goldhaft et a]99/113 1,842,733 l/l932 Reynolds et al. 99/161 Primary Examiner--RaymondN. Jones Assistant ExaminerRobert M. Elliott Attorney-Ge0rge B. Oujevolk[57] ABSTRACT 4 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures 1 PATENTEUSEP! i sum 1 or 4FIG.

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FLAVOURED EGG BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention has todo with a method for processing a vital, flavoured egg, characterized byflavouring an edible egg, like a hens egg, with salt without impairingits vitality.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION the invention in conjunction with the attacheddraw-.

ings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Generally speaking, the present inventioncontemplates a method for processing a vital, flavoured egg,characterized by washing the'egg shell to make its pores clear ofobstruction; immersing the washed egg in a high-concentration of saltwater in a pressure vessel; pressurizing said egg in the salt water fora short time without impairing the vitality of the fresh egg, I

thereby impregnating it with salt water through its pores; lifting theegg out of said pressure vessel; removing the salt deposit on the egg;and, leaving the egg as it is for at least 24 hours, during which timethe vitality of the egg itself promotes uniform distribution of salt.

The invention,as well as other objects and advantages thereof willbecome more apparent from the following detailed description when takentogether with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram explaining the structure of an egg; FIG. 2 is agraph'illustrating the relation between the egg-immersion time in saltwater and the number of days during which the vitality of the egg can bepreserved;

FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C are respectively a plan view and an elevation view of asingle egg-holding frame for egg arrangement, and an elevation view of astack of such egg-holding frames;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are similarly a plan view and an elevation view of anegg-washer; FIGS. 5A and 5B are respectively a plan view and anelevation view of a salt water tank; and,

FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C are respectively a plan view, an elevation view and apartial sectional view of a pressurizer used herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION eggs are to be immersed .in a pressurized saltwater,-

they are commonly held under immersion for at least several tens ofhours.

As is wellknown, the egg is enclosed in a shell (a) mainly composed ofcalcium carbonate. The shell (a) holds the yolk (b) at the center; thegerminal spot (c) and the vitelline membrane (d) surrounding it; chalaza(e); thick and thin whites (f), (g); and shell membrane (h); and airspace (i) at the end with a larger diameter. The shell (a) is perforatedwith countless pores, through which is supplied the air for maintainingthe vitality of the cells which constitute the internal structure. Ifthese pores are clogged, the molecular respiration of the internal cellswill be suspended and as a result their vitality will be lost in. atleast 10 hours.

In the traditional processing of eggs, as mentioned hereinbefore, theeggs are kept sealed in the processing medium for several tens of days,or at least for several tens of hours. In this condition the shell poresare completely clogged and the internal cells, being cut off from theair supply, lose their vitality in the initial stage of processing. Ifthey are then immersed in salt water, some of the cells will decomposeand thereafter the activity of the so-called decomposing enzyme can beinhibited only by salt water which has osmotically replaced the'watercontent of the egg. Therefore, a hardboiled egg, after several tens ofhours of immersion in pressurized salt water, will be different from ahardboiled fresh egg; the former tastes salty, but emits a unique odor,whichis supposed to'come from the decomposition of the egg cells whichhave been deprived of vitality.

The present invention "is. aimed at eliminating the drawbacks of thetraditional method of processing the eggs. Namely, the longtime oftreatment and the bad odor; Briefly stated, according to the presentinvention an egg is washed to clear the shell pores of obstructions; thecleaned egg. is then immersed in a nearsaturation salt water within apressure vessel. During this short time immersion under pressure in thesalt water which does not-impair the vitality of the internal egg cells,the salt water penetrates the egg through the open pores; the saltdeposit on the egg lifted out of the water is removed; and the egg thusprocessed is left for 24 hours, during which time the salt isuniformly'distributed by the vitality of the egg itself.

First, 5 kg of salt is dissolved in 15! of a 30C warm water to produce ahigh-concentrationaqueous solutionof salt with a specific gravity ofabout 1.25.

Two hundred fresh eggs are placed .in a synthetic resin vessel full ofsaid salt water and from" the top a stainless steel net and a weight areput thereonto prevent the eggs from floating to the surface of thewater. Then the vessel holdingthe immersed-eggs is housed inapressurizing tank to applya compressed air of 5-7 kg/cm' for 40-60minutes. After they are lifted out of the water, the eggs areimmediately washed with cool tion amounted to 1.22 do.

Investigation of salt distribution in hard-boiled eggs with a time lapseafter immersion has revealed the following results. Immediatelyafter'being taken out of the pressurizing tank the eggs tasted saltyonly inthe outer white and there was no salty taste at all'in the yolkand its surrounding. In hard-boiled eggs wherein three hours elapsedafter being taken out of the tank, the salty taste extended over thewhole white, but failed to reach the yolk. After a five-hour lapse,however, the salty taste had reached the periphery of the yolk. After aten-hour lapse, it extended over both the white and the yolk, but theflavour in the yolk was weak, as compared with that of the white. Onlyafter a 24-hour lapse the eggs were flavoured evenly to a moderatetaste. Meanwhile, investigations of hard-boiled eggs after days, 20 daysand 30 days of immersion verified that the eggs thus processed couldremain vital, salted eggs.

Thus, in the processing method according to this invention, eggs arewashed to make the pores clear of obstruction; the cleaned eggs areimmersed in a nearsaturation salt water for a short time which does notimpair the vitality of the eggs; thereby the salt water penetrates theeggs through the open pores; and the eggs lifted out of the water areleft as they are for at least 24 hours, during which time the vitalityof the eggs themselves promote uniform distribution of salt. As aresult, the eggs can be processed with their vitality not impaired andthe function of fresh eggs preserved for a long time after processing;and they can be flavoured to a moderate salty taste in a short time.

Generally speaking, the egg immersion time, in other words, the timeduring which the shell pores are closed, and the number of days duringwhich the egg vitality can be maintained are in the relationship asillustrated in FIG. 2, which shows that if the pores are closed for lessthan one hour, the eggs vitality is hardly affected, but when one houris exceeded, the number of days for egg vitality maintenance sharplydrops and a pore closure lasting about 10 hours will result in a totalloss of egg vitality. Thus, the appropriate egg immersion time would beless than one hour. When a fresh egg is left untreated, the loss of itsvitality will be immediately followed by decomposition; but an egg whichhas been processed by the method of this invention can be preservedwithout decomposition for a considerable number of days by virtue of theimpregnated salt even after its vitality has been lost. In this example,the processed egg was found to have its yolk hardened but notdecomposed, even after a lapse of two months. I

According to the present invention, the salt water is nearly saturatedwith salt and this makes it possible to limit the penetration of saltwater into the shell to a necessary minimum and shorten the immersiontime, thereby minimizing the influence on the internal egg structure.Moreover, as means for shortening the immersion time, the'processingpressure is raised to such an extent that the egg is not adverselyaffected (thereby the air space within the egg is contracted); and, asshown in the above example, a surface active agent for food is added todecrease the surface tension, thereby promoting the salt impregnationspeed. Further, the salt water for egg immersion may have vitamins orseasoning preparations added; particularly a vitaminfortified egg willhave an increased value as food.

Next the equipment for execution of the present invention will bedescribed in conjunction with examples illustrated in FIG. 3 andsucceeding figures.

In FIGS. 3A to SC, 1 is a synthetic resin frame with numerous holes 2 toreceive eggs (A), said frame having angular projections 3, 4 at the fourcorners of the top and bottom that fit together. Thus, as illustrated inFIG. 1C, this egg-arranging frame 1 can be stacked in multiple layers.Thereby an appropriate handle 5 attached thereto would be convenient forportability and a designing of this frame 1 in the same size as thecommercially available egg-tray would make it easy to transfer eggs fromthe frame to a tray by simply piling the two and turning them over,without touching the eggs with the hand. A stack of egg frames 1 can befastened together by applying a fastening band or insertion bolt to thehandle 5 on both sides or providing a simple lock easy to fit or unfitto the top and bottom angular projections 3, 4.

FIGS. 4A and 4B, 6 is a washing device composed of: a vessel '7 whichcan wholly house a fastened stack of egg frames 1, support legs 8 and acover 9. Centrally in the vessel 7 is held a turntable 11 driven by amotor 10; and on the periphery of this turntable stand are an adequatenumber of pressurized water jet pipes 12 perforated with countless smallholes. Also there is a control cock 13 provided in the water supply pipe14 for supplying fresh water to the jet pipes; and a drain cock 15 isprovided in the exhaust pipe 16 opening at the bottom of said vessel 7.

Thus, when a stack of egg frames 1 is placed on the turntable 11 withinthe vessel 7 and the vessel is sealed with the cover 9 and then themotor 10 is started with the control cock 13 opened, the egg frames 1will turn and at the same time the surrounding jet pipes 12 will emit auniform jet of pressurized water upward and downward, thereby washingthe eggs on the frames 1 in a short itme; thus the shell pores will becleaned of any obstruction.

In FIGS. 5A and 5B there is a salt water immersion tank 17 in which thestack of egg frames I lifted out of said washing device 6 is placed forimmersion in salt water. This tank has a handle 18.

In FIGS. 6A to 6C there is a pressurizing device 19, in which said saltwater immersion tank 17 holding the egg frames 1 is sealed and apressurized air is supplied to impregnate each egg-on the frame 1 withsalt water. The composition of this pressurizing device is as follows:there is a rust-proofed pressure vessel 20 reinforced with a flange 21around the top opening and it is fixed to the supporting stem by meansof top and bottom connecting rods 22, 23; 25 is a cover which overlapssaid flange 21 and seals the opening of the pressure vessel 20; 26 is ametal clamp which, as shown in FIG. 6C, clamps together this cover andsaid flange 21 through the packing 27. Said metal clamp consists ofright and left clamp pieces 28, 29, with their base pivoted to saidsupport stem 24 and their forward tips following the contour of saidflange 21in a nearly semicircular fashion. As seen from FIG. 6C, eachclamp piece 28 or 29 has such a cross-section that on its inside saidflange 21, said packing 27 and said cover 25 are able to fit together ina clamped state. Moreover, each clamp piece 28 or 29 terminates in abend 30 or 31 with a gap (d); 32 and 33 are a bolt and nut which areprovided to pass through said bends 30, 31 and link these clamp pieces28, 29; 34 in an air supply pipe to supply compressed air to saidpressure vessel 20; 35 is an air exhaust pipe; 36 is a pressurecontrolvalve; and 37 is a pressure gauge.

Thus, in this pressurizing device, at first the salt water immersiontank 17 shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B is placed in the pressure vessel 20;thetank is filled with half the amount of a high concentration of saltwater; after being washed, a stack of egg frames 1 is immersed in thesalt water and then the balance of the salt water is added in the tank.The egg frames 1 and the eggs therein (A) will tend to float, but theywill be submerged under water by means of a holding board, etc. Eggs (A)which tend to float on the frame 1 will not be able to escape out oftheir holes 2, being prevented from moving by the frame 1 on top. Nextthe cover 25 is set and then, as indicated in FIG. 4C, the overlapportion of this cover 25 with the flange 2, together with the packing27, is clamped between right and left clamp pieces 28, 29 and thentightened with the bolt and nut 32, 33 provided between the bends 30,31, thereby making an airtight seal of the pressure vessel 20 and thecover 25. A narrow gap (d) may be left between the bends 30, 31, but itis obvious that there can be no leak of compressed air from this part.Thereafter, air, pressurized to about 5-7 kg/cm is supplied through thepipe 34 to apply a pressure on the surface of the salt water for about40 to 60 minutes. Thus, a highconcentration salt water penetrates theegg (A) via the pores. After a lapse of specified time, the exhaust pipe35 is opened and, contrary to the above procedure, the cover 25 isremoved and the egg frames 1 are quickly lifted out of the tank 17 andagain placed in the washing device 6 to wash the eggs to remove the saltdeposit thereon. Next, air is blasted onto the egg frames l to dry thelatter; thereby a drier may be built into the washing device 6 to renderthe latter available both for washing and for drying. With the aboveoperation the procedure of salt impregnation is finished. Thereafter,when a partition board for a commercial egg tray is placed on aseparated egg frame 1 and the whole thing is turned upside down, theeggs will move into recesses on the partition board. Thus, the eggs canbe instantly packed in the egg trays and shipped out.

In the salt-impregnated eggs thus obtained, the vitality of the eggitself promotes uniform distribution of salt during the steps subsequentto the lifting out of the tank 17 or during shipment and the eggs becomevital, flavoured eggs.

In the examples mentioned hereinbefore, a salt water immersion tank 17is adopted, but this may be omitted and instead, the pressure vessel 20of the pressurizing device 19 may be directly tilled with salt water.

I claim:

1. A method for processing a vital, flavoured egg, comprising the stepsof; washing the egg shell to make its pores clear of obstruction;immersing the washed egg in a a nearly saturated solution of salt waterin a pressure vessel, said salt water having a non-ion surface activeagent therein; pressuring said vessel with said egg in the salt waterfor a period of time sufficient for the salt to impregnate said egg andwithout impairing the vitality of the fresh egg; lifting said egg out ofsaid pressure vessel; removing the salt deposit on the egg; and leavingthe egg stand for at least 24 hours, during which time the vitality ofthe egg itself promotes uniform distribution of salt.

2. A method claimed in claim 1, wherein the time of eggs staying in thesalt water is about 40 to 60 minutes and the pressure in the vessel is5-7 kg/cm 3. A method claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one ofseasoning preparations, vitamins or spices is added to the said saltwater.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said nonion surface activeagent is present in the amount of about two parts per one thousand partof water.

2. A method claimed in claim 1, wherein the time of eggs staying in thesalt water is about 40 to 60 minutes and the pressure in the vessel is5-7 kg/cm2.
 3. A method claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one ofseasoning preparations, vitamins or spices is added to the said saltwater.
 4. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said non-ion surfaceactive agent is present in the amount of about two parts per onethousand part of water.